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Program administrators

Operational Manual

Introduction

This manual is intended to provide SYLFF program administrators at SYLFF Institutions with practical information and guidance for efficient and effective management of the program. Queries should be addressed to the Scholarship Division of the Tokyo Foundation which is responsible for the overall administration of the program (see contact information at the end of the document).

I. Program

Generally known as SYLFF, the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund was founded in 1987 with the purpose of cultivating and nurturing leaders who can transcend various boundaries—be it geographical, political, cultural, ethnic, or religious—and engage proactively in addressing the challenges of our age at all levels in our community and in the world. It is an outgrowth of the late Ryoichi Sasakawa’s vision that “the world is one family and all mankind are brothers and sisters.”

The SYLFF Program is a collaborative effort between the Nippon Foundation, which provides an endowment of one million U.S. dollars to each institution, and the Tokyo Foundation, which administers the Program. Since its inception in 1987, 68 universities and consortia in 44 countries in the world have received the SYLFF endowments (see the list on p. 16 of this manual). To date, a total of more than 10,000 postgraduate students in the social science and humanities fields have received SYLFF fellowships, many of whom have come to work at the forefronts of society.

SYLFF Fellows (recipients of SYLFF fellowships) are expected to be persons who not only demonstrate academic excellence and mastery of a specialized field but also have leadership potential and are sensitive to the trends of an increasingly complex world, capable of using their intellectual gifts to contribute to society, and are determined to make a long-term commitment to their goals.

One hallmark of this program has been the unusual degree of decentralization of the program administration, based on the commitment of each institution of higher learning to assume responsibility for achieving the overall goals of the program, i.e., to identify and nurture future leaders in various fields who can make positive changes in the society. At the same time, network building is encouraged among the SYLFF Institutions and SYLFF Fellows, and so is cooperation and collaboration with non-SYLFF organizations and individuals.

II. Overall Organizational Structure of the SYLFF Program

The SYLFF Program is a collaborative undertaking of the following organizations:

■The Nippon Foundation

The Nippon Foundation is the donor of the SYLFF endowment. It was established in 1962 to contribute to maritime development, domestic social welfare and volunteer support, as well as overseas cooperation focusing on improvement of basic human needs, human resource development, and promotion of international collaborative undertakings.

■The Tokyo Foundation

The Tokyo Foundation, the administrative organization of the SYLFF Program, has two programmatic pillars: 1) policy research and 2) human resource development and scholarship activities. The SYLFF Program is the flagship program among the latter. With regard to the SYLFF Program, the Foundation is responsible for:

(1) Collaborating with Steering Committees of SYLFF Institutions to maintain efficient and effective administration of the respective SYLFF programs

(2) Supporting SYLFF Fellows’ research activities and encouraging their network by offering various programs and opportunities

■SYLFF Institutions (SYLFF Steering Committee)

A SYLFF Institution operates the SYLFF Program through a SYLFF Steering Committee consisting of a chairperson and committee members. The committee is responsible for:

(1) Operation of the fellowship program pertinent to the SYLFF Program (see pp. 3-6) that includes:
-Provision of fellowships
-Announcement of fellowships
-Selection of SYLFF Fellows
-Communication with SYLFF Fellows and dissemination of SYLFF-related information among them
-Reporting to the Tokyo Foundation on the status of program management

(2) Management of the endowment

(3) Cooperation and collaboration with the Tokyo Foundation on various SYLFF-related programs and activities

III. Program Administration

1. Objective and Scope of the Program

The objective and scope of the fellowship program are stipulated in an appendix to the original Agreement that was signed by the representatives of the Nippon Foundation and the SYLFF Institution, or in the Memorandum of Understanding that was subsequently signed by the representatives of the Tokyo Foundation and the SYLFF Institution.

There are variations among SYLFF Institutions regarding the objective and scope of the SYLFF Program, but overriding guidelines are as specified below:

(1) SYLFF Identity
Each SYLFF Institution has its own program name; some program names have “SYLFF” incorporated in them, while others do not. Regardless of whether “SYLFF” is incorporated in a program name, each institution is requested to make clear that its program is a SYLFF program and that the fellowship recipients are SYLFF Fellows and are part of the global SYLFF network administered by the Tokyo Foundation.

(2) Eligibility
Fellowships are awarded to outstanding graduate students who are enrolled full time with high potential for leadership at local, national, regional and international levels in their private and public lives.

(3) Scope
Scope of fellowships must fall within the parameters of social sciences and humanities although the Tokyo Foundation is by no means recommending that the scope of fellowships be decided on a traditional disciplinary basis. Recognizing the growing tendency toward inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches, the students can be eligible candidates for SYLFF fellowships as long as they obviously approach multi-disciplinary research themes (not only subjectively but also objectively) from a social science and/or humanities perspective. If the SYLFF Steering Committee wishes to change the scope of the program, it is requested to make a written proposal to the Tokyo Foundation before implementing the change, since the scope is contractually agreed to in the original agreement establishing the endowment. Please refer to Section V (Revision of Agreement) below.

(4) Duration of fellowships
Fellowships may be awarded for a period of up to 3 years provided that the student makes satisfactory progress towards a degree he/she is pursuing. Renewal of fellowships should be based on an evaluation of the student’s progress by the Steering Committee at the end of each academic year.

2. Budgeting

The number and amount of fellowships and administrative fees must be decided annually based upon careful budgeting. Budgeting is an important aspect in the administration of fellowships. Annual budgeting should consider the actual earnings of the previous fiscal years.

In accordance with the Approximate Breakdown of Annual Expenditures specified in the Agreement, each institution is required to reinvest a portion of the annual proceeds back into the capital to protect against inflation and other cases of financial instability. Even when there is no provision about the ratio in the Agreement, the institution is strongly recommended to return a certain portion (20–30%) of the actual earnings to the capital and to use the remaining (70–80%) as the annual budget for fellowships and administrative matters. Administrative expenses should not exceed 5% of the annual budget (see the chart below).

Since the SYLFF fellowships are supposed to be provided to the best and brightest students with high potential for leadership, the amount of the fellowship should be at least comparable to governmental or other highly prestigious scholarships and fellowships.

3. Announcement and Selection

Naturally, selection for fellowships must be open and transparent, that is, the SYLFF Steering Committee shall make fellowship announcements that are accessible by eligible students using posters, flyers, website, institutional/local papers etc. and conduct a selection on a competition basis. The name “SYLFF” and its aims should be mentioned in the announcement.

Selection of SYLFF Fellows should be based on their academic excellence and leadership potential. Each institution can apply its own criteria to select fellowship recipients.

4. Orientation and Communication with SYLFF Fellows

It is highly recommended that the SYLFF Steering Committee organize an orientation on the SYLFF Program for newly selected SYLFF Fellows to facilitate their understanding and heighten their awareness of the program. For institutions that have a SYLFF Fellows’ association, it is advisable to coordinate with the association in organizing an orientation. The most recent information on the SYLFF Program can be obtained from the SYLFF website at http://www.sylff.org.

As mentioned in Section III-1-(1) above, each SYLFF Institution is requested to make sure that the fellowship recipients are well aware of being SYLFF Fellows and part of the global SYLFF network administered by the Tokyo Foundation.

For recognition of SYLFF, the Tokyo Foundation provides space on the foundation’s English website (http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en) and the SYLFF exclusive website (http://www.sylff.org) where SYLFF faculty members and SYLFF Fellows can directly communicate with each other, share experiences and learning, and in addition reach out beyond the SYLFF community to form partnerships with any group or individual that shares the same values and commitments.

5. Reporting (refer to Appendices following this manual)

(1) Annual Program Report (refer to Appendices 1 and 2)
As stipulated in the original Agreement between the Nippon Foundation and each SYLFF Institution, the Steering Committee is required to submit an annual program report by referring to the instructions below. Since the Tokyo Foundation wishes to publish an almanac of the SYLFF Fellows, information on their research is particularly appreciated.

(2) Annual Financial Report
Submit your annual financial report consisting of:

For cases where the SYLFF endowment is pooled with other funds of the institution, please submit the Income Statement as a summary of the performance of the pooled investment.

(3) Deadline for Submission
Submit the above reports within three to five months after the end of each academic year (depending on the agreement between your institution and the Nippon Foundation).

6. SYLFF Database

Aside from the above paper reports, please input/update data on SYLFF Fellows and SYLFF Steering Committee members in the foundation’s database. This database helps the foundation maintain contact with the SYLFF Steering Committee members and SYLFF Fellows and update them on various programs and opportunities. Please note that an ID and password are necessary to access the database. The Scholarship Division can issue these upon request. For details, please visit the SYLFF website at http://www.sylff.org, in the Network Database section. The data on fellows submitted are to be subject to any restrictions in the privacy or protection of personal information laws of the country concerned.

IV. Management of the Endowments

1. Endowment

Management of the SYLFF endowment is as important as fellowship program administration. Stable annual income ensures solid administration of fellowship programs. On the other hand, lack of proper endowment management results in loss of annual income, thereby hampering sound administration of the fellowship program. The purpose of endowment management is to:

(1) Generate sufficient annual income in accordance with the mid- to long-term planning regarding the fellowship program, and

(2) Maintain the capital (US$1 million) permanently while ensuring gradual growth of the capital

Each institution is required to maintain a separate accounting for the SYLFF endowment from other funds of the institution. For cases where the endowment is pooled and invested with other funds, the amount of SYLFF endowment and its annual proceeds must be clearly demarcated.

2. Investment

Based upon the above purpose, the endowment shall be invested in a safe and secure manner into financial assets as agreed at the establishment of the SYLFF endowment. Should the Steering Committee wish to change the investment portfolio, it is requested to submit a written proposal to the Tokyo Foundation. Please refer to Section V (Revision of Agreement) below.

Pooled investment:

In some instances, pooled investment (the SYLFF endowment being pooled with other funds of the institution) may be approved. Generally, pooled investment is approved when the institution’s fund is significantly large enough to achieve higher return by scale, and the fund management is conducted by unit(s) of experts and a code of rules approved by the institution board as transparent and clear on risk and return, responsibilities and accountabilities.

3. Re-investment (also refer to III-2. Budgeting)

It is required that not all annual proceeds are spent, except for such cases in which the SYLFF endowment is pooled with other funds of the university and the use of its proceeds is strictly regulated. A portion of the proceeds must be returned to the capital for re-investment retained in the capital for two reasons: (1) to protect against inflation and assure sound growth of the capital, and (2) to save for future years when the fund does not generate sufficient proceeds.

V. Revision of Agreement

When the SYLFF Steering Committee wishes to revise the contents of the agreement, including the scope of the program and investment portfolio, it is requested to consult the Tokyo Foundation and submit a written proposal before any action is taken. Both parties then discuss the matter, and, upon agreement, sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to execute the revision.

Minor changes can be made based on agreement by way of an exchange of written correspondence (letter, fax or e-mail) between the chairperson of the SYLFF Steering Committee and the executive director of the Tokyo Foundation’s Scholarship Division.

For further information and inquiries, please contact:

Scholarship Division
The Tokyo Foundation
The Nippon Foundation Bldg. 3rd floor
1-2-2, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052
Phone: +81-(0)3-6229-5503
Fax: +81-(0)3-6229-5507
e-mail: scholarship@tkfd.or.jp
The Tokyo Foundation website: www.tokyofoundation.org/en
SYLFF website: www.sylff.org

*Appendices

- Operational Manual (PDF)
- Operational Manual (word)

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